This could finally be Sears’ and Kmart’s last holiday shopping season

The two chains are only a shell of what they were when the holding company that owns both emerged from bankruptcy less than three years ago.

At the time, the holding company — given the overly optimistic name Transformco — still had 223 Sears and 202 Kmart stores nationwide. That was already down 87% from the 3,500 stores between the two brands when they merged together in 2005 to form Sears Holdings. But the percentage drop in stores since the company emerged from bankruptcy in February of 2019 has been even steeper.

And by the end of the year there will be only six Kmarts left in the mainland United States, along with six more in Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.

“To me it always felt like a liquidation. This has been going on for years,” said Reshmi Basu, an expert in retail bankruptcies at Debtwire.

Many retail experts blame Eddie Lampert, the primary owner of Transformco and Sears Holdings, for the demise of two chains.

“He’s letting leases expire, he’s abandoning stores. He keeps them open if it’s expedient to stay open,” said Mark Cohen, the director of retail studies at Columbia University. “Obviously, they are all going to be gone shortly. You can count on that.”

“It’s been in terminal decline for quite sometime,” said Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at research firm GlobalData.

“We know that suppliers are prioritizing their deliveries. They’re delivering to outlets that add more value to brand,” said Greg Portell, lead partner in the global consumer practice of consultant Kearney.

“The war for talent in retail is very real right now. They’re not only raising hourly wage, but look for other elements to attract workers, college tuitions, benefits, things that Sears and other troubled retailers will have difficulty matching,” said Portell.

If this is indeed the end, it would be a sad demise for two chains that both go back to the late 19th century.

Kmart started in 1899 when founder Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a five-and-dime store in downtown Detroit bearing his name. The Kmart brand didn’t come about until 1962. The chain grew rapidly for several decades, claiming the discount segment of the market that big box stores such as Walmart and Target now dominate.

Kmart became known for its 15-minute-long “blue light specials”: a store would flash a blue light and announce “attention Kmart shoppers” over the public address system, and customers would rush to buy the discounted goods. The promotions started in 1965 but were discontinued in 1991, although Kmart has tried to bring them back several times.

Sears’ history is even more storied. The company was once the largest retailer in the country -— both the Walmart and the Amazon during its heyday. At a time when the majority of Americans lived in rural areas, its catalog allowed many consumers to buy goods to which they would not have had access otherwise.